Differently Similar
by Dannrose
Summary: When he was five Snotlout lost both his parents and ended up in the care of his uncle Stoick the Vast. Growing up with his cousin he becomes one of Hiccup's main supporters and becomes isolated from his peers as a result. This change causes alterations creating something both similar and very different to one of the biggest events in Berk's history.
1. Change

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome. I've decided to re-write this story as I think I can now do a much better job with it than when I first wrote it. It'll have edited and extra scenes but will follow the same pattern as the original in that it will be the first film from Snotlout's perspective. It may end up more AU than it initially was but the main plot points should largely remain unchanged and I'll make sure it fits in with the other stories I have set in the 'Differently Similar' verse. In this verse Snotlout has lived with Stoick and Hiccup since he was five so his character is going to be very different from his canon self, I'll try and keep some aspects of his original character in but he will be very OOC. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of How to Train Your Dragon.**_

* * *

 **Change**

Snotlout dived between villagers with a bucket full of water to reach the latest burning building.

Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were ahead of him and he sighed when he saw the twins fight over their bucket. Reaching the fire he quickly threw the water over it and jumped aside as Astrid followed him and emptied hers as well. As they turned away he heard the sound of a dragon's blast and felt the heat as it exploded behind them. He then saw his cousin in the forge staring, star struck, at Astrid and felt a twinge of worry when he realised that Hiccup had to have gone through the village in the middle of a dragon attack to get there.

He felt his worry was well founded as he'd quickly discovered that his cousin was a magnet for trouble when Stoick had taken Snotlout in after he'd lost his parents when he was five. As such he decided it was his job to try and look out for Hiccup (even if Hiccup was several months older than him) as best as he could. A shout pulled his attention away from the other teen and soon he was running with the others to help combat another fire feeling secure with the thought that there was no way Gobber would let Hiccup out of the forge.

* * *

He was mentally kicking himself later when was standing watching his Uncle Stoick soundly lecture his cousin.

Hiccup had once again attempted to use one of his contraptions to try and kill a dragon which had then resulted in probably the biggest calamity that he'd caused yet. Even though he sympathised with both Hiccup and his Uncle in this situation, Snotlout couldn't help but be impressed by the scale of the devastation that had been caused, unfortunately the village had also lost a good portion of its sheep so it looked like fish for dinner for the next few months if the fishing remained good. Hiccup was now trying to convince his father that he'd shot down a Night Fury and even Snotlout, who had a bit more faith in his cousin than the others, was finding it hard to believe.

"That's enough Hiccup!"

Snotlout winced on behalf of his cousin at his uncle's tone; he'd been on the receiving end of it several times himself when he'd first been taken in as his uncle did not tolerate his original arrogant, selfish and bullying attitude.

"Go back to the house." Stoick gestured to Gobber, "Make sure he gets there."

"Way to go."

"I have never seen anyone muck up that badly."

The twins jeered from behind Snotlout and he resisted the urge to turn and punch them (it would only make the situation worse and add to his uncle's problems) and settled for giving Hiccup a sympathetic look as the older cousin answered sarcastically, "Yeah thank you, I tried."

Snotlout felt a twinge of satisfaction when Gobber shoved Tuffnut (especially as his foot just happened to be in the way causing the male twin to fall hard on his rear) and made to follow Hiccup but his uncle stopped him,

"Snotlout, I want you and the others to help with the clear up."

He looked up and saw his uncle giving him a look that said he'd brook no arguments and nodded, "Yes Uncle."

* * *

It was the afternoon before Snotlout finally got back home and he was unsurprised to find that Hiccup wasn't there and guessed that he'd gone to try and find the Night Fury he claimed he'd shot down.

He thought about going out and finding him but decided against it, the area around the village was pretty safe out with dragon raids and he was pretty sure Hiccup hadn't hit a Night Fury. He sighed at that thought knowing that he'd most likely have to deal with a disappointed Hiccup later and tried to think of something that would make his cousin feel better.

He started on the odd jobs he had to do around the house, with Stoick being chief and a single parent a lot of the housekeeping had to be done by Snotlout or Hiccup, and he was just finishing when his uncle returned.

The man looked around before his eyes settled on his nephew, "Is Hiccup here?"

Snotlout shook his head and Stoick sighed, "I should've known."

Snotlout resumed finishing his chores and watched as his uncle started shuffling around the kitchen area, packing food into a large sack.

"Are you going somewhere uncle?"

Stoick stopped his packing and turned to his nephew, "Another search for the nest before winter arrives."

Snotlout felt worry surge in him, any attempt to find the dragon nest had always ended badly, and tried to keep it from showing on his face but obviously failed when his uncle placed a hand on his shoulder,

"I'll be fine so don't worry about me, you'll have enough on your plate with dragon training."

Feeling a bit reassured he managed to produce a smile for his uncle and the man patted him once, "Good, now I have something for you."

The teen looked on curiously as the chief made his way over to a chest that he knew contained the man's personal belongings and began rummaging through it. Soon his uncle found what he was looking for and turned back to him holding a mace. It had a wooden handle about a foot long that was bound with leather as a hand hold, attached to this was a good sized metal spherical head with spikes coming from it. Stoick handed it to him and Snotlout twirled it experimentally, "It's great."

His uncle nodded, "Your parents would've wanted you to have it. Your mother used it for her own dragon training."

Snotlout finished twirling it and smiled, "Thanks uncle."

Stoick returned the smile before clapping his hands together, "Now, train hard, keep an eye on your cousin and I'll see you soon."

"See you soon uncle."

There was a slightly awkward pause before Snotlout grinned and left to try out his new mace.

* * *

The weapon had proven to be well suited to him as Snotlout tested it on several training dummies and he was pleased that it was comfortable for him to use. The fact that it was once his mum's made it even better as the only things he had to remember her by was her harp and her songbooks so it was good to have something that indicated her warrior side.

The sound of footsteps behind him caused him to turn and he saw the twins approaching.

He and the twins did not get on very well at all though in all honesty he didn't get on with any of the other teens except Hiccup. Most of the adults considered Hiccup a nuisance and the other kids had seen that as an excuse to bully him, Snotlout was largely ignored by the village and was sort of treated as a random spare person in the chief's family but because he defended Hiccup the other kids bullied him too.

He glared as the twins approached and tightened his grip on his mother's mace. Tuffnut grinned and nudged his sister, "Look sis, there's a dummy hitting dummies."

Hiccup probably would have responded with some sarcastic comment but Snotlout wasn't so verbally agile and instead he opted for ignoring them and continued practicing. Ruffnut sniggered, "Well it's better than him trying to help Hiccup wreck the village, like when they completely demolished one of the catapult towers."

Snotlout bristled slightly at that, Hiccup had been trying to kill a dragon with one of his contraptions for a while and he'd helped him several times. The incident Ruffnut was referring to happened not that long ago when they'd attempted to use a sort of giant bow to shot a dragon down. It hadn't gone at all as planned and they'd ended up being chased by several Gronkles who'd gone on to decimate the catapult as they'd fired their lava blasts at them. They'd spent the better part of the following days fixing the catapult and the other kids had taken great pleasure at mocking them while they did it.

Tuffnut spoke again, "Yeah well that doesn't compare to what Hiccup did this time, I mean demolishing the half the village and losing most of our food stocks is pretty impressive."

"Not to mention the whole thing with saying he shot down a Night Fury."

Tuffnut began laughing, "Oh that was priceless. I mean just the thought of old 'useless' doing that just cracks me up."

Snotlout had been trying desperately to keep his short temper in check knowing that his uncle would not thank him for starting a fight but calling Hiccup 'useless' was too much. Hiccup was one of few people who'd stood by him through his parents death and the following years and he did not like anyone calling him 'useless'. He knew full well how much Hiccup wanted to be recognised as someone worthy of his father and how incredible his skills in the forge were, Hiccup was far from 'useless' and he hated how everyone seemed to think of him that way.

He'd been about to pounce on Tuffnut when a familiar voice sounded out, "What are you two muttonheads doing? Yer supposed to be at the farm righting all those yaks ye've tipped!"

The twins looked round and saw Gobber approaching and they quickly scurried away. Snotlout stood glaring fiercely after them and the blacksmith sighed, "Ye shouldn't let them get to ye lad. They're only trying to provoke ye into a fight."

Snotlout kicked the ground moodily, "I know but I hate just letting them mouth off like that. What does everyone have against me and Hiccup anyway?"

Gobber shook his head, "Beating them up isn't going to help and yer uncle doesn't want ye to let yerself be provoked."

Snotlout looked away from him sulkily and Gobber gave another sigh, "Look, forget about them. Yer uncle's ship is about to leave so ye might want to go and see it off. He's not going to be back fer a while."

Forgetting about his anger at the twins Snotlout shot off towards the docks to see his uncle's ship off.

* * *

Night was falling by the time Snotlout was heading back to the house.

Hiccup hadn't been at the docks and he was hoping his cousin had seen Stoick before the chief had left. When he entered the house he saw Hiccup sitting at the big table in the middle of the room and made his way over, "Hey."

Hiccup looked up from staring at the wooden surface before him, "Hey."

"Did you see uncle Stoick before he left?" Snotlout asked as he sat down.

"Yeah," he thought that was all he was going to get when Hiccup spoke again, "He put me into dragon training before he left."

The younger teen grinned, "That's great!" Soon you'll be killing dragons with the rest of us and we'll be the best dragon slayers in the village."

"Yay I'll be killing dragons, woo-hoo."

Though excited at the prospect of Hiccup being in dragon training as well Snotlout didn't miss the sarcasm in his cousin's voice. He was about to call him out on it when Hiccup suddenly got up,

"Well I'm going to get to bed; you know rest up for dragon training and all that."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow Snotlout."

He watched as Hiccup headed up to their shared room and then sat at the table with a confused frown on his face, only this morning Hiccup had been desperate to prove that he could kill dragons but now he'd been given the chance he seemed really bothered by the notion.

What had changed?

* * *

 _ **PS-So that's chapter one re-written and hopefully it's better than the original. I've tried to add more depth with an additional scene and changes may get more drastic in later chapters. Please let me know what you thought and I'll try and update soon.**_


	2. Gronckles and Books

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to chapter two. This one deviates more from my original version and I hope you like it. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Gronckles and Books**

He'd gone up to bed a while after his cousin since he'd been wondering about his sudden change in attitude towards Dragon Training, Hiccup was already asleep when he finally made his way to their shared room so he'd simply turned in as well.

As usual the older cousin awoke first in the morning and was already set for the day when he finally shook Snotlout awake, he greeted him with a smile before speaking, "You're finally awake."

The younger teen gave a sleepy grunt in response and he then heard Hiccup heading down the stairs calling as he went, "See you downstairs."

Snotlout groggily got up and put on his normal clothes yawning as he went, he then made his way downstairs almost walking into Hiccup's bed due to tiredness on his way. When he got there Hiccup was in the kitchen area sorting breakfast and the other teen gestured to an empty bucket, "It's your turn to get the water."

Giving another huge yawn, Snotlout grabbed the bucket and headed for the well.

* * *

The day was clear and bright with few people about to interrupt the early morning stillness and Snotlout enjoyed the peaceful amble down to the well. As he approached he suddenly stopped when he saw the people who were already at it, Borik Ingerman and Fishlegs.

Fishlegs was probably the one Snotlout least disliked out of the other teens, unlike the twins he didn't actively look for opportunities to bully him and Hiccup but he was definitely not a friend. He had been until they were eight but then he turned his back on them like the others and if they were going for Snotlout or Hiccup and he was around then he'd often join in even if it was with a sense of reluctance. Apart from that Fishlegs ignored Snotlout the same way most of the village ignored him and Snotlout was more than happy to ignore the older boy in return.

Borik Ingerman was a different story, he was Fishlegs' uncle and for some reason he'd absolutely hated Spitelout and since Snotlout was Spitelout's son Borik hated him just as much. No one seemed to know where this hatred had come from but they all knew it was there because the man had no qualms about vocalising it as long as Stoick wasn't around to hear him. The only person that came to Snotlout's defence when he did was Hiccup but that achieved very little as Borik just ignored him so Snotlout tried to avoid the man as much as possible. Unfortunately that wasn't going to be possible this time so he just gritted his teeth and continued on towards the well even as Borik noticed him coming and sneered at him, "What are you doing here boy?"

Snotlout fought hard to keep his voice polite, "Fetching some water."

"You mean you're actually doing some work for once, I find that hard to believe."

Though remaining completely calm on the outside Snotlout was churning with annoyance inside, this is not what he wanted to deal with first thing in the morning but Borik certainly didn't care about that as he kept speaking, "I don't know what you do with yourself but it's obvious you're as lazy as your father was."

Since he was facing away from the man as he drew water from the well, Snotlout let a dark glower cross his face and began attempting to tune the man out. It wasn't that hard as Borik's words were actually fairly mild compared to what he could and had said before, Fishlegs just stood silently, pointedly not looking at Snotlout nor showing any sort of support at all and Snotlout treated him the same way.

He'd just finished filling up the bucket when Borik finally decided to leave with a loud remark to his nephew, "You did the right thing ditching that boy years ago Fishlegs. He's never going to come to anything good."

"You're right uncle, he's not."

Snotlout rolled his eyes at Fishlegs predictable answer and began trudging back up to the house with the bucket of water.

* * *

Breakfast passed largely in silence as Hiccup didn't seem in the mood for talking and Snotlout wasn't that eager for conversation either and it wasn't long before he was heading off to the arena with his new mace. Hiccup had said he 'needed to do something' and had stayed behind while Snotlout went ahead of him.

Astrid was already there when he arrived and was tending to her axe; she gave him a cursory glance when he arrived before returning her attention to her task, apparently saying 'Good morning' to him wasn't worth the time and effort.

Astrid was probably the one he disliked most, she didn't actively bully him like the twins nor did she do so for the sake of the people around her like Fishlegs but she'd been the first one to turn her back on him and Hiccup. She had become absorbed in her training after she lost her uncle to the Flightmare and had made it very clear that she considered the others to be nothing more than a nuisance. They'd once played together a lot and the three of them had really enjoyed their time together but once she started training she'd started calling the games they used to love 'stupid' and 'pointless'. Her abrupt casting them aside had hurt a lot and both he and Hiccup had tried desperately to regain her friendship but she'd remained cold to them both no matter what they did. He knew Hiccup had a thing for her but it seemed unlikely she'd spare his cousin or indeed Snotlout himself anything more than an irritated glance.

He was hoping he and Hiccup could get one up on her in dragon training to prove that they were not as useless as she thought. She was also the one everyone said was going to come out on top this year and get to kill her first dragon in front of the village, she seemed to be the best at _everything_ and Snotlout had to admit he'd get a lot of pleasure out of someone knocking her off her oh so perfect pedestal.

They waited in silence for a short while until Gobber arrived with Fishlegs and the twins following him. With a dramatic flourish the blacksmith threw open the gate into the arena announcing as he did so, "Welcome to Dragon Training."

Gobber led the five teens into the arena who looked around in awe.

"I'm hoping for some serious burns." Tuffnut said.

"I'm looking for some mauling, maybe on the back or my sides." That was Ruffnut.

Astrid then spoke herself, "Yeah, its only fun if you get a scar out of it.

"No kidding right. Pain, love it."

Everyone turned round at the sarcastic voice behind them to see Hiccup holding an axe that Snotlout was slightly surprised he could even lift. Tuffnut snorted, "Great, who let him in?"

He turned away again with a sniggering Fishlegs and Ruffnut as he called out mockingly, "Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?"

Snotlout glared after them before giving Hiccup an encouraging smile as he joined the line of teens at the opposite end from his cousin.

Anticipation thrummed through him as Gobber began walking down the row of iron doors holding the dragons at bay speaking as he went.

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you'll learn to fight." He gestured to the first door, "The Deadly Nadder."

"Speed eight, armour sixteen."

"The Hideous Zippleback."

"Plus eleven stealth, times two."

"The Monstrous Nightmare."

"Firepower fifteen."

"The Terrible Terror."

"Attack eight, venom twelve."

"CAN YOU STOP THAT!" Gobber finally yelled at Fishlegs who'd been spouting the dragon stats and then continued, "And…the Gronckle."

"Jaw strength eight."

Snotlout could barely hear Fishlegs whispering that but he shot a glare at the large teen anyway. Gobber placed a hand on the lever which controlled the large beam that kept the door sealed, seeing this Snotlout stepped forward feeling pretty certain that there was a stage they had to go through before that, "Wait! Aren't you going to teach us first?"

The man kept his hand on the lever, "I believe in learning on the job."

With that he pulled the lever allowing the Gronckle to explode from its pen causing the teens to scatter.

Snotlout could hear Gobber speaking over the commotion and he tried desperately to listen to what the older Viking was saying, "Quick what's the first thing you need?"

"A doctor!"

Real helpful Hiccup.

"Plus five speed!"

Seriously Fishlegs.

"A shield." Astrid called.

Gobber pointed to a pile of shields on the arena floor, "Shields. Go."

As he joined the scramble for a shield, Snotlout dimly heard Gobber saying how a shield was the most important bit of equipment. He scrambled back with a shield just in time to see the twins sent spinning as the Gronckle blasted the shield they were fighting over.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut you're out!"

The twins looked around dazedly as Gobber continued his 'teaching'.

"Shields are good for another thing. Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim."

Snotlout instantly began hammering his shield with his mace as the others did the same around him and soon the dragon was obviously suffering the affects. Gobber was soon speaking again,

"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronkle have?"

Snotlout thought he'd heard the answer somewhere before and he yelled it out, "Five!"

Fishlegs instantly waved his arm in the air jumping up and down as he did so, "No, six."

"Correct, six. That's one for each of you."

Fishlegs began calling something else to Gobber but was interrupted by a Gronckle blast taking out his shield.

"Fishlegs, out," Gobber turned and Snotlout noticed him looking at Hiccup who was hiding behind a handy wooden frame as the man called out, "Hiccup, get in there!"

Distracted by his cousin Snotlout suddenly felt Astrid roll into him and he snapped at her, "Hey! Watch where you're…!" He was cut off when Astrid cart wheeled away and the dragon blasted his shield knocking him on his back.

"Snotlout, you're done."

He lay on his back in a daze until a sudden shout from Gobber caught his attention, "HICCUP!"

Snotlout rapidly sat up just in time to see the Gronckle right next to his cousin preparing to blast him. His breath caught in his throat as Gobber hooked the beast's mouth at the last second causing it to blast the wall above instead of Hiccup. Gobber wrestled the creature back into its pen as Snotlout tiredly hauled himself up while visually checking that his cousin was all right. The teens all looked to Gobber as he sealed the Gronckle pen and turned to them.

"Remember…a dragon will always," he looked pointedly at Hiccup, " _always_ go for the kill."

With that the older Viking made his way out of the arena and they guessed that meant that class was finished. Astrid gave him and Hiccup a hard look before leaving as well and Snotlout walked over to his cousin who, ignoring the jeers from the twins as they left, was staring at where the Gronckle had blasted the wall thoughtfully.

"Hiccup?"

The other teen jumped and turned away from the wall.

"You okay?"

His cousin seemed confused at Snotlout's question before he answered, "Yeah, you know I'm fine considering I almost died."

Snotlout was concerned at his almost careless way of talking about his near miss but before he could say anything Hiccup was heading for the arena exit.

"There's something I've got to do so I'll see you at dinner."

Before he could give an answer Hiccup was gone leaving him alone in the arena, "Okay…bye."

* * *

It was dinner before he saw Hiccup again and Gobber was in the middle of discussing their performance in the arena. Fortunately the man had just told Snotlout to pay close attention during a fight and that was about it and he'd now moved onto Astrid.

"Alright, where did Astrid go wrong today?"

"I mistimed my summersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble."

Snotlout rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Yeah, we noticed." It seemed Ruffnut didn't really like the other girl's 'perfect' reputation either.

They heard the Great Hall door open and he smiled slightly as he saw Hiccup enter. Gobber breifly glared at the late teen before speaking again, "Where did Hiccup go wrong?"

The twins were of course quick to answer blocking him from sitting down as they did so.

"He showed up."

"He didn't get eaten."

He saw Hiccup roll his eyes as he sat down just as Astrid answered.

"He's never where he should be."

"Thank you Astrid."

Snotlout glared at her before getting up and sitting with his cousin, true or not she didn't have to make it sound like such a terrible fault. Gobber continued, "You need to live and breathe this stuff." He dropped a familiar book in the centre of the table, "The Dragon Manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of." There was a crash of thunder outside and Gobber looked up thoughtfully before speaking again, "No attacks tonight. Study up."

With that the man left and it took a few seconds for what he said to click before Tuffnut exclaimed, "Wait you mean read?"

Ruffnut soon added to his dismayed opinion, "While we're still alive?"

"Oh! I've read it like, seven times." Fishlegs cut in excitedly, "There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And there's this other one that buries itself for like a week…"

Tuffnut interrupted him, "Yeah there was a chance I was going to read that…"

Ruffnut finished for him, "…but now…"

The twins quickly got up and headed for the door with Fishlegs trailing after them babbling away again, "Oh and there's this other one with spines like trees…"

The sounds of the other teens faded away as Snotlout looked at the book and then at Astrid and Hiccup feeling very awkward, "I guess we're sharing then?"

Astrid quickly got up and left, "Read it."

He looked back at Hiccup who just shrugged, Snotlout sighed then pulled the book towards him in an attempt to at least try and learn something from it. It was a fairly futile attempt and he was just about to give up when Hiccup sat next to him.

"You need a hand?"

Snotlout was initially going to refuse his cousin due to pride but then remembered that Hiccup was about the only one apart from his uncle who knew that reading was a seemingly unsolvable problem for him. He'd been taught to like everyone else but he just couldn't get the hang of it and his writing wasn't much better, in fact he was barely literate but they'd both endeavoured to keep that fact from everyone else.

"Yeah."

Hiccup took the book and began reading off the pages moving his finger along the words as he did so for Snotlout's benefit, "Okay, Dragon Classifications. Strike Class, Fear Class, Mystery Class." He turned a few pages, "Thunderdrum. This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled it produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range." Hiccup pulled a face at the rather graphic picture of a man being killed this way, "Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight."

"Good advice." Snotlout commented.

Hiccup made a humming sound and turned a few more pages, "Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees…extremely dangerous. Kill on sight."

"I think there's a pattern developing here."

Hiccup tilted his head in acknowledgement of Snotlout's words and moved on to another dragon, "Scauldron. Sprays scalding water at its victims. Extremely dangerous…"

Thunder boomed outside causing both boys to jump, they gave each other slightly embarrassed grins before Hiccup pressed on, "Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight."

"There's definitely a pattern here."

Hiccup began leafing through the pages faster and faster as both boys became absorbed in its words, "Gronckle. Zippleback. The Skrill. Boneknapper. Whispering Death. Burns its victims. Buries its victims, chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight…" Hiccup suddenly stopped at a page devoid of any illustrations and read its meagre contents, "Night Fury. Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you."

There was silence until Snotlout finally spoke nervously, "Well that's one dragon I really wouldn't like to meet." He quickly stood, "I'm going to head back to the house and rest up for tomorrow. I'll see you there right?"

Hiccup nodded distractedly still staring at the page, "Yeah, I'll be there soon."

"Okay."

Snotlout walked off and as he left he briefly looked back and saw Hiccup place his sketchbook on top of the Book of Dragons and sit back thoughtfully.

* * *

 _ **PS-So a far more in-depth explanation of Snotlout's relationships with the others. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	3. Nadders and Suspicions

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here is chapter three. It holds more alterations and an additional scene, it also begins to deviate more from my original version and I think it'll do more of that as the story goes on. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Nadders and Suspicions**

"You know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?"

Hiccup gave a huge yelp and Snotlout hoped he hadn't been hit by the Nadder as he ran through the maze of movable walls, he guessed his cousin was fine as Gobber called from his position above the arena.

"FOCUS Hiccup! You're not even trying."

Snotlout quickly pressed himself against one of the walls as the Nadder jumped from wall to wall above him.

"Today…is all about attack. Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter."

There was a squeal that could only have been made by Fishlegs, "I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods."

Gobber carried on with his instructions regardless, "Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike."

There was a brief lull in noise and then two yelps which suggested the twins had just been spotted.

"Blind spot? Yes. Deaf spot? Not so much."

By now Snotlout was crouched by the end of one of the walls behind Astrid and he looked back to see Hiccup standing in plain view calling up to Gobber.

"So how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?"

"No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale. Now get in there!"

"I know, I know, but hypothetically…"

"Hiccup!" Snotlout whispered earnestly at his cousin who then turned to him, "Get down."

He was glad when his cousin listened and crouched down behind him, he thought he could hear the Nadder around the corner and when Astrid quickly rolled forward to the next wall he soon followed suit. He turned just in time to see Hiccup get halted mid-roll by his shield and nearly get blasted by the dragon. They quickly rounded several other walls with the Nadder in pursuit, as Hiccup sprinted past them Snotlout and Astrid spun round to surprise attack the beast as it rounded the corner. Seeing his chance to prove that he was as good as Astrid, he stepped forward just as the creature appeared declaring boldly as he did, "I've got this!"

He mightily threw his mace at the approaching creature…for the Nadder to casually observe it as it harmlessly bounced of the wall beside it. He could feel Astrid's glare burning the back of his head and had a moment to experience his humiliation before the dragon breathed fire and they both had to start running again. He got separated from Astrid somewhere along the way and arrived at the edge of the ring to see Hiccup once again ignoring the teens running past him and speaking to Gobber.

"They probably take the daytime off. You know, like a cat. Has anyone ever seen one napping?"

"HICCUP!"

Everyone spun round at Astrid's yell to see her flying over the top of one of the walls as it collapsed, closely followed by the Nadder which had taken out all the other walls. She landed directly on top of Hiccup causing her axe to embed itself in his shield.

"Oooh! Love on the battlefield!"

"She could do better."

The twins unhelpfully sent in their comments from the sidelines as Hiccup and Astrid struggled to untangle. The Nadder was approaching fast and Snotlout began running to try and help. He needn't have bothered as Astrid planted her boot in Hiccup's chest and wrenched the now conjoined axe and shield from him and swung it at the dragon. The Nadder gave a cry of pain and surprise as the impromptu club smacked it in the face and it ran off in defeat.

"Well done Astrid." Gobber called as he hurried to the arena entrance to get the Nadder in its pen. The girl however ignored the praise and whirled upon Hiccup who was still curled on the ground.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you? Our parents war is about to become ours." She pointed her axe at him, "Figure out which side you're on."

"Why don't you lay off him Astrid?!" Snotlout snarled as he stood between her and his cousin and glared right back at her.

"Why do you keep defending him?! He's completely unfocused, can barely wield a weapon and keeps getting in the way!" Astrid demanded.

"Because he's way better than any of the rest of you!" Snotlout snapped and would have continued if Hiccup didn't place a hand on his shoulder.

"Snotlout, leave it."

The younger cousin turned round, "But Hiccup…"

Hiccup shook his head, "Its fine Snotlout, just leave it."

Snotlout gave a disgruntled growl but settled for giving Astrid another glare which she returned before she stormed off out of the arena, the twins left sniggering and Fishlegs scurried out after them. When they'd gone Snotlout turned back to his cousin, "Why did you stop me Hiccup?"

The older cousin sighed, "Because if I didn't you and Astrid would have ended up fighting, as in properly fighting."

Hiccup had begun leaving the arena as he spoke and Snotlout quickly caught up, "I could've taken her on easily."

Hiccup sighed again, "That's not the point. You're not supposed to be getting into fights with the others, dad has told you that several times."

"I know but I hate just letting them all mouth off like." Snotlout looked down, "Why do they always pick on us?"

Hiccup didn't answer but looked away almost guiltily and they stayed silent for a while. Eventually Hiccup spoke again, "Snotlout, there's something I've got to go and do, are you okay if I'm gone for a while?"

Snotlout looked up in confusion, "What are you doing?"

Hiccup fidgeted with his hands as he answered, "I can't tell you but I really need to do it, okay?"

"Okay."

Hiccup smiled, "Thanks Snotlout, I'll see you later."

Hiccup hurried off once again leaving Snotlout standing alone, "See you later."

* * *

Snotlout tried to find things to do but without Hiccup around there wasn't really anyone he could hang around with leaving him with fairly limited options. He attempted another assault on the Dragon Manual but, in absence of Hiccup to help him, was defeated by it and eventually went to practice throwing his mace accurately. As night approached Gobber came to speak to him.

"Snotlout, forget going to the Great Hall to eat. I want you and the rest of the recruits to meet me on the old catapult tower as soon as possible, understand?"

"Snotlout nodded, "Yes sir."

"Good, oh and tell Hiccup if you see him on yer way."

"Yes sir."

As the man shambled off, Snotlout made to head to the tower before realising that he should tell his cousin what was happening and headed towards the Great Hall instead in case he was there. He saw Hiccup just as the older cousin was entering it and called out to him, "Hey Hiccup!"

His cousin turned and waited as he ran towards him, "Yeah?"

Snotlout came to a halt at the base of the broad steps, "Gobber wants us to meet him at the old catapult tower now."

"Oh, okay."

Hiccup joined at the bottom of the steps and they both headed to the tower together in silence. Eventually Snotlout decided to speak, "So…what was the important thing you were doing today?"

Hiccup seemed to jerk as if he was deep in thought before answering, "Oh you know, nothing much. Just some…vikingy things."

"Vikingy things?"

"Yeah like…training and…hunting practice! Those sort of vikngy things." There was an awkward pause before Hiccup spoke again, "We should really pick up the pace. I mean, we don't want to keep Gobber waiting."

With that his cousin picked up pace and started moving ahead while Snotlout stared at his back, he didn't believe that Hiccup had been doing what he said he'd been doing but that left him with the mystery of why Hiccup was being so evasive about it.

* * *

"…and with one twist he took my hand and swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face. I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one took my leg."

It hadn't taken long for Gobber to start on his war stories and Snotlout had found himself enthralled despite having heard them before. He'd always liked it when Gobber had joined them for a meal or something in their house and spent the evening telling his tales to the two wide-eyed boys like an honorary uncle.

"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon? Like if your mind was still in control of it you could've killed the dragon from the inside by crushing its heart or something."

After Fishlegs' frankly disturbing thought, Snotlout chipped in without thinking the same way he did when he was younger.

"I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight, with my _face_!"

It was just after he said he realised how stupid it sounded but Gobber spoke before he could feel to embarrassed.

"It's the wings and tail ye really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away and a downed dragon is a dead dragon." The man stood up and stretched, "Alright. I'm off to bed. You should be too. Tomorrow we get onto the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honour of killing it?"

As Gobber shuffled off Tuffnut boldly declared, "It's gonna be me. It's my destiny." He rolled up his sleeve revealing a red dragon, "See."

Fishlegs gasped, "Your mom let you get a tattoo?"

"It's not a tattoo. It's a birthmark."

"Okay, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before." Ruffnut cut in.

Tuffnut answered defiantly, "Yes it was. You've just never seen me from the left side before."

Snotlout tuned the others out and he noticed Hiccup stand and slip away from the group back towards the village. Remembering his cousin's evasiveness earlier he also stood and stole off after him not noticing Astrid watch him leave.

* * *

He tried to follow his cousin but lost him in the village and ended up wandering around for a bit trying to find out where he'd gone. Eventually he heard the familiar sounds of someone working the forge and he hurried over to the blacksmith and looked in to see his cousin working.

He'd been here a lot and actually had a fairly good understanding of how forging worked even though Hiccup was the apprentice. This was because Hiccup was the only person about his age Snotlout ever spent time with and since the older cousin enjoyed his work in the forge so much he tended to spend time here so Snotlout went with him. Of course spending so much time in the blacksmith meant he picked some of the work up and it wasn't long before he was helping either Gobber or Hiccup with various jobs. He'd even learnt how to use the forge himself and could actually forge items of his own but never to the level of Hiccup or Gobber, he'd actually been pretty proud when he'd once managed to create a decent knife to give to his uncle on the man's birthday and the chief still used it very regularly.

At the moment Hiccup was busy forging what looked like metal rods and Snotlout entered the forge, "Hiccup?"

His cousin jumped slightly before standing awkwardly, "Snotlout! I mean hi Snotlout what are you doing here?"

"I noticed you leave the catapult tower and I wondered where you were going." He looked curiously at the metal rods, "What are you making?"

Hiccup hastily hid the rods behind his back, "Oh…erm…nothing. Nothing at all."

Snotlout folded his arms and gave Hiccup a disbelieving look and the older boy sighed, "Look Snotlout, I can't tell you what I'm doing but it's important. I know you want to know what it is but I really can't say but I promise to tell you everything at some point. Please don't push it and just trust me for now."

Snotlout desperately wanted to know what Hiccup was up to but he could hear the pleading in his cousin's voice so he sighed and unfolded his arms, "Okay, I won't push. But you're going to tell me everything at some point and that point better be soon!"

Hiccup smiled gratefully, "Thanks Snotlout."

The younger boy spoke again, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Hiccup looked surprised at his offer and seemed unsure until his eyes lit up with an idea, "Could you make sure people stay away from the Cove?"

Snotlout raised an eyebrow, "You mean the same Cove we used to always go to when we were younger?"

"Yes, that one. It won't be good if anyone from the village goes there at the moment and I mean _anyone_."

Snotlout stared at him in confusion for a moment before finally answering, "Okay, I can do that."

The older cousin grinned once more, "Thanks Snotlout, I owe you one."

"Just remember you promised to tell me everything, I'm holding you to it."

Hiccup nodded, "I know you will."

Snotlout shook his head before making his way out of the forge, he turned back to Hiccup who'd already restarted his work, "You staying here all night?"

His cousin didn't look up from his work as he answered, "Probably, I'll see you at training tomorrow."

"Okay then. See you tomorrow."

Snotlout resumed his journey out of the forge and back to the house wondering what the heck he'd agreed to help Hiccup keep secret.

* * *

 _ **PS-So Snotlout knows Hiccup is up to something but he has no idea what. Please let me know what you thought and I'll try and update soon.**_


	4. Zipplebacks and Quick Improvements

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one is actually has all the original sections as they were but I added a considerable chunk to the middle. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Zipplebacks and Quick Improvements**

"Today is about teamwork. Work together and you might survive."

Snotlout had a tight hold on his bucket of water as Gobber spoke and it tightened as one of the pens burst open allowing green gas to pour out. He heard Tuffnut do something similar behind him and he mentally grumbled at being stuck with the male twin for this. He'd been hoping to pair with Hiccup as that would've been much better for both of them but he hadn't seen his cousin after leaving the forge last night until the older boy came hurrying in late for training, by this time Gobber had already sorted the pairings so there wasn't anything to be done about them.

"Now a wet dragon head can't light its fire." Gobber continued his lecture, "The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

As the gas swirled around them he and Tuffnut were back to back and Snotlout was definitely nervous. Peering through the green fog he spotted a horned shape approaching and instantly yelled out, "There!"

He and Tuffnut hurled their water at the shape and were greeted by outraged cries from Astrid and Ruffnut.

"Hey!"

"It's us, idiots."

The girls loomed out of the fog obviously soaked and Tuffnut just smirked, "Your butts must be getting bigger. We thought you were a dragon."

Seeing the glares they were getting Snotlout tried to diffuse the situation, "Not that there's anything wrong with a dragon-esque figure."

He was rewarded with a punch to the face from Astrid as Ruffnut flung her bucket at Tuffnut. The next few moments were a bit of a blur as he recovered but he dimly heard Tuffnut shouting something about being very much hurt and some yelps from the girls. He managed to recover from his daze to find that at some point Gobber had pulled him away from the fog and he saw the Zippleback looming over Hiccup and Fishlegs. One head came right up to Fishlegs and the boy quickly doused it with water, the head appeared to grin at him before it began spewing gas. Fishlegs stared at it blankly for a moment.

"Oh. Wrong head."

He then ran screaming, waving his arms in the air and abandoning Hiccup as the second head prepared to light the gas. Gobber quickly shouted to the remaining teen, "Now, Hiccup!"

Hiccup hurled the water for it to only arc up and fall pathetically back down to earth leaving the target dry.

"Oh come on!"

"RUN, HICCUP!"

Gobber began running forwards as the two heads moved in for the kill only to stop short suddenly as the beast suddenly backed off in fear. Hiccup appeared to be warding it away with his hands and began backing it into its pen speaking commandingly as he did so, "BACK! BACK! BACK! Now don't you make me tell you again! Yes, that's right. Back into your cage and think about what you've done."

Snotlout stared slack-jawed with the rest as Hiccup closed the pen doors and turned, stopping in the middle of brushing his hands on his vest when he saw them. The only sound was an audible thunk and Snotlout guessed that Fishlegs had dropped his empty bucket in shock. Hiccup stood awkwardly for a moment as they all stared at him before finally speaking, "Okay! So are we done? Because I've got some things I need to…Yep …See you tomorrow."

He hurried past them all and Snotlout noticed the suspicious look Astrid was giving his cousin and he was certain she was thinking the same thing he was.

How had Hiccup done that?

* * *

Over the following days Snotlout saw less and less of Hiccup out with dragon training and although he was dying to know what his cousin was up to he kept to his task of keeping everyone else away from the Cove.

It wasn't that difficult a job because the Cove was rarely visited by other Vikings because it was away from the village and the farms. That's why he and Hiccup had loved it so much when there were younger, it gave them somewhere to get away from the village and all the negative emotions and bullying that came with it. Though they'd gone less in recent times Snotlout still felt that the Cove was very much their's and he really wanted to know what Hiccup was hiding there. He could've easily gone to the Cove to find out but he held back from doing so, there must be a good reason why Hiccup wasn't telling him what was there and he had faith in his cousin's judgement.

As the days went by Hiccup began improving drastically in dragon training and Snotlout was certain it was directly linked to the older boy's big secret. As more and more dragons were bested by his cousin Snotlout began to notice that the creatures weren't actually harmed in any way. He was about the only one who noticed this because everyone else was so shocked by Hiccup's sudden skill they flocked to him in appreciating hoards, more than once Snotlout had been bulldozed aside or nearly trampled by Vikings desperate to speak to their new hero and hadn't noticed that Snotlout was there with him. Many people would have seriously jealous of Hiccup but Snotlout wasn't because he could see how much his cousin hated the attention and wanted to get away from the masses, for this Snotlout helped where he could and had created several diversions (such as 'accidents' with things like runaway empty barrels and wooden carts) so that his cousin could get well away before anyone realised where he'd gone. While this was enough to throw most people off following Hiccup it didn't stop everyone and Astrid was proving particularly difficult to get rid of.

She seemed to hate the fact that Hiccup was better than her and had become determined to find out what he was up to and Snotlout had to admit he loved seeing her being beaten by one of the very people she was often so disparaging of. She'd had noticed his disappearances and was doing her utmost to follow him and Snotlout now had his work cut out for him in keeping her away, more than once he'd risked being hit by an axe as he interrupted her training in the woods so Hiccup could sneak by unnoticed. It was after one of these encounters and he'd escaped the irate Astrid that Gobber told him that they had word that his uncle was returning soon.

Snotlout was there to greet his uncle when he returned from the nest search. He and his chosen warriors were a sorry sight has they arrived crowded in a single, barely floating ship. Thankfully it didn't look like they'd lost anyone but it was obvious the search was far less than successful. Gobber met the chief and Snotlout could see from their expressions and body language that he'd told Stoick about his son's skill in the arena greatly lightening the chief's sombre mood. His uncle was positively beaming as he met him at the top of the ramp to the docks and clapped him on his shoulder.

"I've been hearing good things from Gobber Snotlout. He says you've improved greatly and as for your cousin."

Snotlout grinned at his uncle's joy, "I guess he surprised us all, huh?"

"Aye, it looks like one day I can say I reared two of the finest warriors in Berk." Stoick began walking with Snotlout up the hill and looked around as he did so, "Where is Hiccup?"

Snotlout shrugged, "I don't know, I haven't seen him since training this morning."

Stoick looked slightly disappointed before smiling again, "No matter, I'm sure he'll turn up soon."

* * *

As had become normal for the last few days Snotlout didn't actually see Hiccup until the next morning when he was awake before him for the first time since his uncle had first taken him in. It had taken a bit of effort to wake his cousin and they only just made it to the arena in time.

It had been set up with several short barriers and Gobber had told them that the best recruit would be chosen today. As such everyone was focused apart from Hiccup who was wearing a new helmet Snotlout assumed had been given to him by Stoick and looked like he wanted to be anywhere but the arena.

The Gronkle was released and there were Vikings ringed around the arena cheering on the recruits. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were out first as they got into another one of their fights and Fishlegs closely followed them. Snotlout was next to go due to mistiming his transfer from one barrier to another allowing the Gronkle to blast his shield from him. This left Hiccup and Astrid and Snotlout saw her shove Hiccup's shield down and threaten him to not beat her, this proved in vain however as the Gronkle approached Hiccup while she came round the back of it allowing him to subdue it just as she began her full Viking charge.

It was quite funny to watch as she effectively threw a temper tantrum at her loss but he noticed Hiccup trying to leave and be hooked by Gobber. Still in the middle of her rage Astrid rammed the top of her axe at Hiccup's throat just before Stoick's voice rang out from above.

"Okay, quiet down. The elder has decided."

Gothi stood beside the chief ready to reveal her decision. Gobber held his hook above Astrid's head and Gothi shook her head, there was a surprised murmur from around the arena as he held his other hand above Hiccup's head. Gothi nodded once and the area erupted with cheers.

Astrid glared at Hiccup while the rest charged him and Fishlegs hoisted him onto his shoulder. At first Snotlout cheered as loudly as the rest of them but then he noticed that Hiccup didn't look happy, in fact he looked panicked.

Whatever Hiccup was up to in the Cove it obviously did not work well with Hiccup being the chosen recruit and Snotlout decided that he needed to know very soon what his cousin had been up to.

* * *

 _ **PS-So how was that? Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	5. Night Fury and Ideas

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **So here is the chapter that marks the appearence of Toothless. Again it actually doesn't differ much from the original version but I have added some extra bits and ammended a few things. Thank you everyone for your support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.  
**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **The Night Fury and Ideas**

Unfortunately for Snotlout, he didn't see Hiccup until late that night.

His cousin had escaped the jubilant teens as soon as he could and Stoick had caught Snotlout before he could follow and asked him to help with preparing the arena for the next day. Then the others wouldn't leave him alone long enough to go after his cousin, Fishlegs kept demanding that Snotlout tell him what Hiccup's secret to defeating dragons was and the twins kept going on about how he was now the 'useless' member of the village because he couldn't fight dragons the way Hiccup could. This really grated at him and it was an immense relief when he finally managed to ditch the other teens before his stretched patience snapped and he thumped one or all of them. By this time Hiccup was long gone and although he knew he could search the Cove to find him he held back and opted for waiting for his cousin to return home instead.

It was a very long wait and Snotlout's uncle had long since begun snoring before Hiccup finally stole into the house and up to their room.

Snotlout sat up just as his cousin entered, "Hiccup."

Hiccup didn't seem surprised he was awake and he gave a sigh, "I was hoping you'd still be up."

"Why."

"Because I said I'd tell you what I've been doing in the Cove and I'm going to do that right now."

"So tell me."

Hiccup gave another sigh, "It'll be easier if I show you."

Hiccup started to creep down the stairs again and Snotlout followed quickly followed. He idly realised that they hadn't done this since they used to sneak out at night to go hunting for trolls or dragons to slay when they were younger. They stole past Stoick, who was snoring loudly, and slipped outside.

Once they were out Hiccup turned his direction to the forest and hurried towards it with Snotlout close behind. It wasn't until they were inside it that he finally broke the silence, "Does what you've been up to have something to do with your success at Dragon Training?"

"Kind of…" Hiccup answered vaguely, "But it's more like my success at that was just a…side effect."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I could try and explain but it'll be far easier just to show you, it'll all make a lot more sense when we're actually at the Cove."

Snotlout noticed they were getting close as he followed Hiccup down the nostalgically familiar route and he fell silent again eager to see what Hiccup had been doing.

* * *

They eventually reached the cove and scrambled down to its entrance ducking under a shield that was jammed there for some reason. The moon had the area well lit and Snotlout peered around looking for what Hiccup had hidden here, he couldn't see anything and turned to his cousin to find him heading towards a large boulder and begin talking to it.

"Hey Toothless, sorry if you're sleeping bud but there's someone you need to meet."

Thinking Hiccup had suddenly gone mad, Snotlout spoke, "Umm…Hiccup, I think that's…"

He stopped mid sentence when the boulder Hiccup was beside looked at him, unfurled its wings and stretched giving a huge yawn as it did so.

Snotlout gaped as the boulder became a creature and it took a few moments for him to register it was a dragon. Then his mind went into overdrive, it was going to eat them! Why wasn't Hiccup running? Wait it wasn't attacking, why wasn't it attacking? Dragons always go for the kill don't they? So why wasn't this one? Was it toying with him, savouring its kill? Oh Gods it was coming towards him!

Snotlout begin quickly back pedalling away as the beast approached him not noticing its look of curiosity and fell back. Hiccup suddenly appeared at his side.

"Whoa Snotlout! Its okay, it's okay. He's not going to hurt you."

He looked at Hiccup in disbelief and saw that his cousin meant what he was saying and looked back at the dragon. It had stopped approaching and was now sat down gazing at him in what looked like amusement, he looked back at Hiccup who was staring at him worriedly and he got back up quickly composing himself while keeping a wary eye on the dragon.

"I'm good and I totally wasn't panicking."

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the blatant lie before walking over to the dragon and began scratching behind the beast's ear flaps. The dragon gave a contented growling noise and slightly closed its eyes in pleasure as Hiccup spoke again.

"Okay, let's try and do this properly." He gestured to Snotlout then to the dragon, "Snotlout, Toothless. Toothless, Snotlout."

Snotlout just gaped at his cousin trying to comprehend why Hiccup was with a dragon and why he'd called such a dangerous creature 'Toothless'. The dragon had sat down to regard him thoughtfully and then showed Snotlout an odd gummy grin revealing a distinct absence of teeth. The dragon then made them spring from his gums and seemed to grin wider at Snotlout's surprise at this. Hiccup sighed, "Really Toothless, are you trying to freak him out more?"

The dragon grinned mischievously in response and Hiccup sighed again and Snotlout found himself dumbstruck at the easy relationship his cousin and the dragon seemed to have. Before he could think on it further Hiccup grabbed his hand and began pulling him over to the dragon and Snotlout cried out in alarm, "Wait! What are you doing?"

Hiccup stopped pulling him and looked at him seriously, "I've learned that you have to earn a dragons trust by proving you're not a threat." He let go of Snotlout's arm, "Now come up to Toothless and hold out your hand like this." He held up his own hand with his open palm facing towards the dragon. Snotlout hesitated but with an encouraging nod from his cousin he took a few steps towards Toothless and held out his hand.

"You're doing great Snotlout. Now, turn your eyes away from Toothless."

"What!" Snotlout stared at his cousin like he was crazy, Hiccup expected him to look away from a dragon.

"I promise he won't hurt you Snotlout. Please, just trust me and him."

Now he had a lot of faith in his cousin but Snotlout really didn't want to put that much trust in a creature that he had been taught was the enemy. He inwardly fought with himself from a few moments until, with colossal effort; he looked away from what he knew as one of the most dangerous creatures in existence.

There was an agonising moment where nothing happened and then a scaled nose was gently pressed against his palm.

Snotlout slowly looked back at the dragon and saw Toothless with his nose against his hand. The dragon drew back and then gave him another gummy smile, this time minus the sudden addition of teeth, and he couldn't help but grin back especially when Toothless went back to Hiccup and curled around him as the older boy sat down.

"So this is what you've been hiding?"

Hiccup had once again begun scratching Toothless and just nodded in answer and Snotlout asked another question.

"How did you manage this?"

"You know when I claimed I hit a Night Fury and no one believed me?" Snotlout slowly nodded guiltily (he'd guessed where his cousin was going with this) and Hiccup continued, "Well I had and I came out here to prove it and found Toothless but when it came down to it I couldn't kill him so I let him go instead, when I did he pounced on me and I thought I was a goner but he simply roared in my face and ran off. I thought that would be the last I saw of him but after what Gobber said the first day of training I had to come back to find out why he hadn't killed me and I found him trapped in here. I came back again the next day and I can't really explain how but I formed a sort of connection with him, I then realised that he was trapped here because my invention had ripped off his left tail fin. Without it he couldn't fly and I began working on a prosthetic fin for him."

"That's why you were gone for such long periods."

Hiccup nodded, "Yeah, if I wasn't in the forge making the fin then I was with Toothless testing it, it took a lot of tests but I finally came up with a system where I could control Toothless' prosthetic fin and help him to fly again."

Hiccup began petting the Night Fury who'd settled down behind him and Snotlout noticed the saddle with the complicated connections to a brown canvas fin as another thought came to his mind, "So the arena dragons?"

Hiccup grimaced slightly, "When I was hanging out with Toothless I accidently discovered some things about dragons which helped me calm the ones which came at me in training. Unfortunately everyone started to think that I was going to be a great dragon slayer." He sighed, "And now I'm considered the best recruit."

Snotlout was wondering why this was a problem, "So?"

Hiccup stared at him, "So I can't kill dragons and my final exam is tomorrow."

He still couldn't see what Hiccup was worried about; all he had to do was kill a Monstrous…Oh. Now he got why Hiccup was worried, "That's going to be awkward."

"It's going to be a lot worse than just awkward." Hiccup sighed sadly, "I almost flew off on Toothless to leave Berk forever but Astrid caught me first."

Snotlout's eyes widened in alarm, Astrid would've been furious when she discovered Toothless and would've immediately run back to the village to tell everyone or tried to attack and he was pretty sure that would not have ended well for her. He eyed Toothless worriedly, "How did you stop her trying to kill you or telling the whole village? Toothless didn't…you know?"

Hiccup hurriedly shook his head, "No, she's fine and headed home just before I did. She did try to attack and Toothless was going to fight her but I managed to stop him before he did, then after a pretty…eventful flight," He gave Toothless a brief glare and the dragon seemed to give a smug smile in response, "I managed to convince her that we might've been wrong about dragons all this time or that at least Toothless wasn't an enemy. After that I realised I'd left you in the dark for too long so I went back home to tell you and you know the rest from there."

Snotlout sat down on the ground heavily, "So now what?"

Hiccup placed his head in his hands, "I have no idea. Dad's expecting me to kill my first dragon tomorrow but there's no way I can do that now, I know why the dragons raid us all the time but if I try and tell dad he'll kill Toothless and embark on a suicide mission so I can't say anything yet. I need to come up with something that'll help support my case that dragons don't have to be our enemies."

Snotlout thought desperately about how to help with this, he trusted Hiccup and although he'd only had a little bit of contact with Toothless he was certain that what Hiccup said was true. His cousin wouldn't have told him all this if he wasn't sure and from what he'd experienced so far tonight he could see Hiccup's point about the dragons and he sighed, "Too bad you can't show everyone that dragons aren't as bad as we think like how you've just shown me tonight."

Hiccup suddenly perked up and stared at him in amazement, "Snotlout, you're a genius!"

Snotlout grinned, "I know." He then realised something he needed to clarify, "Wait! What did I do?"

Hiccup bounced up from where he'd been sitting, "You've given me an idea for tomorrow. I know what I need to do."

With that he bounded off and out of the Cove leaving Snotlout alone with Toothless. He looked at the dragon who just gave him a look that quite clearly said 'I have no idea' before fire blasting the ground and settling down on it to sleep. Snotlout looked back to where his cousin had left the Cove.

"Great."

* * *

 _ **PS-So there we go and next chapter is the Monstrous Nightmare. As always please let me know what you thought.**_


	6. Monstrous Nightmares and Broken Hearts

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here it is, the slightly altered arena scene. Thank you for your continued support of this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Monstrous Nightmares and Broken Hearts**

Snotlout stood in the Cove after Hiccup had left wondering what to do now when suddenly a nose bumped him in the back.

He jumped a mile in the air and spun round to be greeted with Toothless' face glaring at him. He backed up slightly before standing confidently like he hadn't been scared out of his wits, "What do you want?"

The dragon used his head gesture at him and then at the Cove entrance and Snotlout looked at him blankly causing Toothless to repeat the motions. When Snotlout still didn't get it the dragon rolled his eyes and then firmly butted him with his head causing him to stagger back slightly.

"What was that for?"

Toothless gave what could only be described as a sigh before marching round Snotlout causing him to turn, the dragon then tapped him on the chest with his nose and stomped over to the Cove entrance and pointed hard at it. Snotlout still didn't get it and then he clicked.

"Oh! You want me to go?"

Toothless gave a short bark-like roar which he guessed meant yes and Snotlout quickly moved to the entrance talking as he went, "Well I knew that, I was just seeing how well you could communicate it."

The dragon gave him a look that quite clearly said he didn't believe him and wandered back to the burnt ground he'd created and heated it up again. Snotlout looked back as he left and saw Toothless curl up ready to sleep and he called back as he left, "Well…goodnight Toothless."

He got a sleepy growling sound in reply and he made his way back into the forest. It wasn't until he was halfway back home that he realised that he'd said 'Goodnight' to a dragon and actually addressed it by name.

* * *

Snotlout was awoken by his uncle shaking him and he turned his bleary eyes up to him, "Uncle?"

"It's nearly time Snotlout."

"Time? Time for what?"

His uncle looked at him in disbelief, "It's nearly time for Hiccup's final exam."

Snotlout's sleep muddled brain took a moment to process what Stoick had said. Hiccup's final…

He sat up rapidly and dived out of bed grabbing his day clothes, Stoick smiled and shook his head at his nephew's mad rush before heading down the stairs, there was a bang indicating he'd left the house and Snotlout nearly toppled down the stairs in his haste to catch up while pulling his clothes on.

He managed to quickly catch up with his uncle and he fell into step beside him, Stoick was whistling cheerfully but Snotlout could feel worry gnawing at his gut as they headed for the arena. He never got a chance to find out what Hiccup was planning but he had a good idea and he was sure it wasn't going to end well. His worry must have shown clearly on his face because his uncle suddenly spoke to him, "I wouldn't worry Snotlout, today is a grand day. I'm certain Hiccup is going to show everyone exactly what he can do."

He managed a smile at his uncle's words but his worry only increased, he was certain Hiccup was indeed going to show him exactly what he could do but there was no way his uncle was going to like it.

They reached the arena and as Stoick made his way to his great chair Snotlout slipped off to the arena entrance where Hiccup was waiting. The older cousin was standing staring into the arena with a nervous but determined expression and Snotlout stood beside him, "You sure you can do this?"

"Yes, I think I can." Hiccup sighed before turning to his younger cousin, "Snotlout, if something goes wrong, please look after Toothless."

Snotlout nodded, "I will, but try not to let anything go wrong okay."

Hiccup gave a small smile, "I'll try."

"Good. Because if you don't I'll get you back somehow."

The older cousin grinned, "I know you will."

Snotlout smiled back then quickly hugged his cousin and stepped away, "Good luck."

"Thanks Snotlout."

With a final nod Snotlout left the arena entrance and made his way through the crowd passing Astrid on the way. He got to where the chieftain's chair was and stood beside it just as his uncle was about to make his speech, the man gave his nephew a smile before standing up to address the crowd and silenced them with just a few gestures.

"Well I can show my face in public again."

There was laughter from the Vikings and Stoick chuckled along with them before continuing, "If someone had told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being, well…Hiccup," a few more laughs from the crowd, "to placing first in Dragon Training…I would have tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he'd gone mad. "There was more laughter and some sounds of agreement, "And you know it!" Stoick paused briefly, "But here we are. And no one's more surprised or more proud than I am." Snotlout just hid a grimace at his uncle's words, certain that chief would soon be changing his mind as Stoick finished his speech, "Today my boy becomes a Viking! Today, HE BECOMES ONE OF US!"

There were cheers and roars from the crowd as Stoick shouted these words and all eyes turned to the arena entrance. There was a brief expectant hush broken only by a clanking as the entrance opened and then cheers and hollers as Hiccup appeared with his helmet on and carrying a shield. Snotlout's gut clenched as his cousin walked over to the rack of weapons and selected a dagger, there were murmurs from the crowd at his choice and Snotlout heard his uncle mutter to Gobber, "I would've gone with the hammer."

A hush fell again as he squared his shoulders, faced the doors holding back the Monstrous Nightmare and spoke in a voice that somehow carried throughout the arena.

"I'm ready."

The locking bar lifted and the dragon burst forth already on fire and obviously furious and Snotlout was blown away by its ferocity. It began climbing the chains making up the arena's domed roof and blasted a fire stream at the crowd; it then turned its attention to Hiccup and descended to the middle of the arena like a giant, scaled spider. The onlookers hushed awaiting the battle they were expecting but Hiccup dropped his dagger and shield and stepped back away from them. Snotlout saw the dragon pause and look at Hiccup in confusion but growled when the teen extended his hand and continued its slow approach. Hiccup then reached up and took of his helmet and threw it away from him.

"I'm not one of them."

Everyone gasped in shock but Snotlout watched amazed as the dragon looked at the helmet before looking back at Hiccup. His cousin held out his hand again and he could see it calming down.

"Stop the fight." Stoick's commanding voice rang out but Hiccup spoke again his voice just as commanding.

"No! I need you all to see this."

The onlookers were now shuffling and murmuring restlessly with many looking towards Stoick but Snotlout was completely focused on the dragon and Hiccup who was still speaking.

"They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

Snotlout heard his uncle move and he cried out before he could stop himself, "Uncle, wait!"

The chief ignored him and brought his war hammer crashing down onto the bars in front of him just as Hiccup was about to place his hand on the Nightmare's snout, "I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!"

Panicked by the sudden, booming clang the Nightmare snapped at Hiccup forcing him to jump back, he then had to run as it blasted out a stream of fire. Stoick shoved past Snotlout and through the crowd to reach the arena entrance as Vikings exclaimed in shock and surprise around him. The dragon was still chasing Hiccup and had destroyed the weapon rack leaving him defenceless.

"HICCUP!"

Suddenly Astrid was in the arena and she grabbed a hammer which had been sent flying across the arena by the Nightmare, she then hurled it accurately smacking the creature in the jaw causing it to chase her instead. By now Stoick had reached the entrance door and wrenched it open to wave Astrid and Hiccup towards him.

"This way!"

Both the teens charged for the door but a fire blast from the Nightmare cut Hiccup off forcing him back into the arena, it pounced and trapped him with its huge fore claws and prepared to kill.

Suddenly a familiar screeching noise was heard.

"NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!

Toothless leapt over the crowd and blasted a hole in the roof chains creating a massive smoke and dust cloud inside which he dived into. The smoke was thrown this way and that and all anyone could see was a flailing of wings and tails until Toothless and the Nightmare tumbled out of the dissipating cloud clawing and biting each other. Without thinking Snotlout jumped through the hole in the arena chains and ran over to where Hiccup was and helped him up. The two dragons viciously tussled until the Night Fury threw his opponent off and placed himself between Hiccup and Snotlout and the Nightmare. The other dragon lunged back but Toothless roared and it backed off rapidly. Hiccup ran to his dragon with Snotlout close behind and both cousins pushed the protective dragon's side, "Alright, Toothless, go. Get out of here!"

Vikings began pouring into the arena and Stoick grabbed an axe and charged towards Toothless as Hiccup tried to stop him.

"Dad! No! He won't hurt you!"

Seeing only a threat to his rider, Toothless charged sending any Viking that tried to stop him flying as he closed in on the chief with both ignoring Hiccup's pleas, "No, don't! You're only making it worse!"

They met and Toothless sent them rolling and soon had Stoick pinned.

"Toothless! STOP!"

The Night Fury prepared to blast the chief and anyone still only watching braced for the shot.

"NO!"

At Hiccup's shout Toothless swallowed his shot and turned to his rider in confusion. Suddenly he was mobbed by several Vikings and Snotlout held Hiccup back from trying to stop them as he pleaded with them not to hurt Toothless. Someone helped Stoick to his feet and another presented him with the axe he'd dropped, he glared at Toothless for a second then spoke.

"Put him with the others."

* * *

Snotlout stood at the base of the steps to the Great Hall.

His uncle had been absolutely furious and he'd dragged Hiccup from the arena and to the Great Hall; Snotlout had seen him fling his cousin in but hadn't followed them inside. Though he wanted to stand with Hiccup through this he knew barging in would only make things worse so he waited fearfully outside.

"Ready the ships!"

Snotlout looked up to see his uncle begin his descent towards him, his eyes stormy with anger, he walked past Snotlout as if he hadn't seen him so he called out, "Uncle!"

His uncle turned sharply to look at him and Snotlout quailed slightly under his hard gaze but still spoke, "Please listen, Hiccup's right about Toothless…"

"Toothless?" Stoick's gaze darkened even further, "You knew."

It was a straight out statement and Snotlout remained silent knowing that his uncle had already worked out the truth. His uncle took several steps towards him and loomed over him.

"You knew and you never told me."

His uncle's look of betrayal cut him to the core but Snotlout was not going to back down from defending his and Hiccup's actions and choices.

"Uncle I…"

"No!" His uncle sharply cut across him, "You've sided with him and betrayed your tribe." He turned away from Snotlout, "You've dishonoured the memory of your parents, the name of your father and you've made yourself unworthy to call yourself their son." He turned away, "You're no family of mine."

Stoick continued his march to the docks, leaving behind the two most important people in his life whose hearts he'd just broken.

* * *

 _ **PS-So a heavy end to this chapter but you all know what's coming next so don't worry. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	7. Dragons and Riders

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Greetings and salutations good readers and welcome to Chapter 7. I did a serious bit of alteration to the central part of this story and I hope it works. Thank you everyone who has continued to support this story and please let me know what you think of it.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Dragons and Riders**

Snotlout didn't watch the ships leave.

He returned home, if it even was his home anymore, and went straight upstairs and curled up on his bed. He stared at the blank wall his mind continually replaying the last words Stoick had said to him feeling the hurt all over again. He was suddenly aware that he'd begun crying but didn't bother trying to stop and just lay there as his tears silently fell.

Snotlout didn't know how long he'd been there when he suddenly heard a noise from the top of the stairs. He quickly looked to see Astrid standing there looking at him. She was about the last person he wanted to see right now and he turned away again, "What do you want?"

She answered tentatively, "I'm sorry Snotlout."

He didn't respond and he heard her slowly come into the room and sit on the edge of Hiccup's bed, they remained silent until she finally spoke again, "So what happens now?"

"Why do you care?"

She seemed to falter at his reply before she tried to answer, "Because…I…"

He turned over to face her his tears still coming, "Because what? You've never cared before and you're now back on top where you like to be, so why do you care now?"

She fumbled with her words, "Because…I…I…Because I now know Hiccup is right!" her voice gained more confidence, "Because I know why the dragons raid us and I know what everyone is going to be up against at the nest, it's a fight they can't win against a dragon big enough to decimate Berk on its own. Hiccup is probably the only one who knows what to do to stop it and prevent everyone from meeting their own deaths." She stood decisively, "I'm going to talk to him."

"No!"

She stared at him in shock, "Why not Snotlout? Are you just giving up?"

He stood his eyes dry and determined, "That's not what I meant Astrid. You're not going to talk to him because I am." He walked straight past her and paused at the top of the steps to send back one last remark, "I know him and you don't."

He continued on leaving Astrid behind.

* * *

He found Hiccup at the top of the cliffs over the docks staring out over the ocean and Snotlout was certain he'd been there since the ships had left. He silently stood beside his cousin and looked out over the waves as well.

"He disowned me as well."

Though it was a simple statement Snotlout's words meant so much more and Hiccup gave a mournful sigh and lowered his head, "I'm sorry." He looked back up, "Why didn't I kill him when I found him in the woods? It would've been better…for everyone."

Snotlout shrugged, "I would've done it. A chance to finally be recognised by the village, it was exactly what we've both wanted for years." He looked at his cousin, "So why didn't you do it?"

Hiccup waved his hand awkwardly, "I don't know…I couldn't."

"That's not an answer."

"Why are you so desperate to know!?"

Snotlout could hear the frustration in Hiccup's voice but he kept pushing, "Because you had a chance to get everything we've both wanted for years so I need to know what happened to make you give up on that, to go against everything we've been taught and risk all that you have to keep going with it." He grasped Hiccup's shoulder, "Because whatever happened must have been pretty amazing and powerful and I think I could use something like that right now."

Hiccup looked down, "When I stood over him, ready to plunge my knife into his side, I saw that he was as frightened as I was." He looked back over the sea, "When I looked at him I saw myself." Hiccup closed his eyes sadly, "Not that it matters now."

"It does matter Hiccup."

He looked up at Snotlout and the younger cousin continued, "Yesterday you said that you almost ran away on Toothless but Astrid caught you, right?"

Hiccup nodded slowly, "Yeah but…"

"Why didn't you just run away anyway? She wouldn't have been able to stop Toothless on her own and even if she told the village you'd have both been long gone before they could catch you." Snotlout looked his cousin directly in the eye, "So why did you stay, why try and convince Astrid at all?"

Hiccup remained silent but Snotlout could see that his point was getting through and he answered for him, "Because Berk is your home and truthfully you could never abandon it, it's not who you are."

Hiccup gave a smile and put his arm around Snotlout's shoulders, "Thanks Snotlout."

"Any time." He folded his arms, "So what do we do now?"

Hiccup shrugged, "Probably something stupid."

"You've already tried that and it didn't work so what's plan 'b'?"

Hiccup's eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers, "Something crazy."

As he ran off Snotlout grinned before following after him.

"That sounds like my kind of plan!"

They entered the arena and Hiccup made his way straight over to the Monstrous Nightmare's pen and stood in front of it. Snotlout soon joined him and was about to ask if Hiccup was planning what he thought he was when Fishlegs' voice came from behind them.

"If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronckle."

They both turned to see Astrid, Fishlegs and the twins standing there and Tuffnut marched right up to Hiccup, "You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon." At Hiccup's confused look the male twin pointed at himself, "It's me."

As his cousin tried to work out how to answer Ruffnut shoved her brother out of the way.

"You're crazy." She then leaned closer to Hiccup, "I like that."

Astrid then used one of the other girl's braids to pull her away and stood in front of Hiccup herself, "So? What is the plan?"

Hiccup smiled at her thankfully as it obviously her who'd gathered the others and started to explain his idea.

* * *

Crazy was a good way to describe Hiccup's plan.

It was basically use the arena dragons to fly to the nest, get Hiccup to Toothless, kill the biggest dragon their tribe had ever encountered, save all the adults and hopefully end the three century old war. It was insane, dangerous, reckless and had a million different ways it could go horribly wrong.

In other words, it was a plan any Viking would be proud of.

Hiccup unlocked the door of the Nightmare's pen and gave Snotlout an encouraging look before opening it. It had been decided he'd be introduced to a dragon first since he'd already met Toothless and didn't need to be talked through what to do. The Nightmare came out looking very different from the snarling beast it had been earlier. As Hiccup backed out of the pen holding his hand up near its snout it slowly followed him not seeming perturbed by the group of Viking teens watching in awe. Hiccup drew the dragon in front of Snotlout and gave him another encouraging smile before moving his hand away from the Nightmare. Snotlout took a deep breath and then held up his hand, turned his head away and, ignoring the gasp from Fishlegs, waited.

What happened next was what Hiccup would later call 'the Moment of Connection'.

The Nightmare placed his snout on Snotlout's palm and in that moment he was certain that no matter what happened this dragon would stick with him and he would do the same in return. He started to scratch the Nightmare's chin and the dragon closed his eyes and growled with pleasure causing him to grin in delight, he turned to the others seeing Hiccup beaming at him, Astrid smiling and Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut staring at him in awe. He noticed Hiccup holding some rope and he pointed at it.

"What's that for?"

His cousin held up the rope and smirked, "You're going to need something to help you hold on."

He gestured to the other pens and they all looked to see that the other dragons were already out and looking at them curiously. The Nadder moved first and walked slowly towards Astrid. She stood still, her body language open and unthreatening as the dragon approached and did exactly as Snotlout had done himself when it stopped in front of her. He saw that when the dragon touched her hand she felt exactly the same way he had and she instantly began stroking the Nadder's scales.

Fishlegs was next and Hiccup had to practically drag him over to the Gronkle, Snotlout watched as his cousin placed the other teen's hand on the dragon's nose and gave a short laugh as the Gronkle gave Fishlegs a huge lick and then began nuzzling him. Fishlegs quickly relaxed and was soon scratching the dragon causing it to roll over in pleasure like a large, scaly dog.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were last and they inevitably began fighting over which one of them would approach the Zippleback first. The dragon watched them for a short while as they continued to tussle before the two heads looked at each other and then gently grabbed a twin each and held them apart. The two heads then grinned in amusement as the twins continued to fight despite being held by a dragon.

Snotlout was pulled from his observations by the Nightmare nudging him in the side. He turned back to his dragon, "Sorry bug guy, I guess I was kind of ignoring you." He was then struck by a thought, "I should really give you a name." The dragon gave a grunt of agreement and he tried to think of a suitable name. His eyes were drawn to the Nightmare's teeth and he noticed that many of them were curved, his face lit up in delight as a name sprung into his mind. He grinned at his dragon.

"How about Hookfang?"

The Nightmare contemplated the name for a minute before grinning himself and nuzzling his new rider. Laughing, Snotlout began scratching the dragon as he continued to nuzzle him, "Okay, Hookfang it is."

"Right guys." Hiccup's voice rang out and Snotlout turned his eyes to his cousin to see that he was already on Astrid's Nadder with Astrid sitting behind him, "Let's mount up."

Hookfang lowered his head allowing Snotlout to sit on his neck just behind it. He grabbed a hold of the Nightmare's horns instead of using Hiccup's rope and as soon as he was seated securely Hookfang took to the air. He let out a whoop of delight as he flew for the first time and he could hear similar sounds from the other teens behind him. They naturally fell into formation behind Hiccup and Astrid and his cousin called back to Berk's brand new Dragon Riders.

"Let's go kick some butt!"

* * *

 _ **PS-For those who are waiting for the battle between Hiccup and the Red Death, I promise it is coming next chapter so I'll do my best to update soon.**_


	8. Red Death and Saviours

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to the next chapter everyone. This one actually has very few alterations from its original form or indeed the movie itself but I think it works best as it is. Thank you everyone who has been supporting this story and I hope you'll enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Red Death and Saviours**

It took far less time for them to reach the nest then they'd thought.

It actually made a lot of sense for the nest to be so close to Berk but the ships were always gone for weeks on a search for it. However it seemed that most of that time was spent finding a way back out of the fog that surrounded the island. As it was they reached the nest in time to see the monster they would be facing.

Huge didn't cover it and even though Hiccup had tried to describe it on the way there Snotlout didn't think there was a way for anyone to do the beast justice. Excluding the mountain it was by far the largest thing on the island and even with dragons on their side defeating it seemed an impossibility. Its mouth alone was large enough to swallow most of the village and its skin looked tough enough to shrug off any weapon thrown at it.

As they dived towards it Snotlout could see two figures running on the ground in front of the monster obviously distracting it. Despite the distance he could easily recognise them as his uncle and Gobber, Hiccup had obviously recognised them as well and managed to speed Astrid's Nadder up calling back as he did so, "Everyone follow closely. We're going to draw its attention away from the people on the ground."

They soon closed formation behind him and as they continued their dive he could see the creature preparing to breathe fire, just before it did Astrid's Nadder blasted it with its own flame. The creature was instantly distracted and watched as they flew past it's head with Hiccup calling instructions, "Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs! Move Fishlegs!"

The twins yelled excitedly to the people below as the dragons began to ascend again, "Look at us, we're on a dragon! We're on dragons, all of us!"

Reaching a suitable height they circled above the beast.

"Fishlegs, break it down."

At Hiccup's command the knowledgeable teen began to quickly categorize their foe.

"Okay. Heavily armoured skull and tail made for bashing and crushing. Steer clear of both. Small eyes, large nostrils. Relies on hearing and smell."

Satisfied with the teen's information Hiccup began giving orders, "Okay. Lout, Legs, hang in its blind spot. Make some noise, keep it confused. Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit. Make it mad."

Ruffnut grinned, "That's my specialty."

Tuffnut quickly spoke up, "Since when? Everyone knows I'm more irritating. See."

He then turned his dragon's head upside down and making annoying noises but Hiccup cut across him the exasperation plain in his voice.

"Will you just do as I told you! I'll be back as soon as I can."

He and Astrid broke away to head for the boats while Snotlout led the rest towards the huge dragon. He and Fishlegs split up to take each side of the head while the twins flew in front of its nose yelling insults as they did so.

"Troll!"

"Butt Elf!"

"Bride of Grendal!"

The twins sniggered before barely dodging a fire blast from the dragon. Snotlout and Hookfang hovered behind the eye and the teen hammered away at his shield, another two eyes opened and glared at him just as he heard Fishlegs call from the other side.

"Uh, this thing doesn't have a blind spot."

Snotlout quickly glanced towards the now burning ships and he saw the Nadder swoop down briefly before returning to the sky and heading back towards them. Still hammering away at his shield he saw the three eyes before him start blinking and the beast shaking its head dazedly, he called out triumphantly, "Its working!"

He heard Fishlegs call something similar then Hookfang suddenly seemed to lose his own bearings and collided with the huge dragon's head. The collision threw Snotlout off the Nightmare and he lost his grip on his mace and shield and they both tumbled to the beach below. He landed hard on the big dragon's head and nearly bounced off the other side but he managed to get a hand hold on the scales beneath him just before he did. He recovered in time to see Fishlegs' Gronckle begin to spin drunkenly with the large teen struggling to stay on its back.

"I've lost power on the Gronckle." Fishlegs tossed his hammer to Snotlout as his dragon began to effectively fall out of the sky, "Snotlout! Do something!"

There was a thud as the Gronckle roughly landed followed by Fishlegs calling up, "I'm okay!" There was another thunk followed by a more muffled, "Less okay!"

Snotlout looked at the dragon beneath him before grinning and bringing his hammer down, "I can't miss!" He then began indiscriminately whacking the beast's eyes causing it to roar in pain, "What's wrong buddy, got something in your eye?"

"Yeah! You're the Viking!"

He looked up to see Astrid flying past and he grinned at her uncharacteristic compliment. The dragon suddenly jerked its head flinging him in the air and he just managed to grab one of the creature's spines in time and was now hanging at least a couple of hundred feet above the ground. He began hauling himself up despite the constant motion of the dragon and got back on the dragon's head just in time to see Hiccup and Toothless take to the sky. He saw Astrid send the twins in to get him and he ran down the dragon's head to meet them. He made a flying leap off the beast's nose, landed squarely where the two necks joined the body and hauled himself onto the Zippleback's back.

As the Zippleback descended to the ground he saw the huge dragon inhale catching Astrid and her Nadder in the suction, he was about to get the twins to turn and help her when a familiar screech was heard. There was a sudden explosion throwing Astrid off her dragon, Toothless wheeled sharply and dived moving almost to quickly for the eye to follow and snatched her out of the air. Toothless and Hiccup dropped her off safely and returned to reengage their foe. The Zippleback landed right in the centre of the Viking crowd and Snotlout jumped off in ran forward in time to see Toothless fire and strike the monster right in the head causing it to crash over. The tremors through the earth nearly caused him to fall over and a huge cloud of dust rose into the air. A giant wing emerged from the cloud and they all looked on in awe and fear as the mighty beast slowly lifted itself into the air.

Their foe now airborne Toothless and Hiccup began to weave between the towering rock formations around the island and he and the other teens hollered in support as they powered past.

"Wahoo! Yeah! You show him Hiccup!"

Their calls died as the great dragon simply smashed through the pillars completely unbothered by them and Hiccup and Toothless began to fly rapidly up with the other dragon closing the gap fast. The monster inhaled and blasted its fire which the two friends narrowly avoided and then vanished into the dark clouds.

A hush fell over the Vikings as they stared up into the sky hearing the dim roars of the huge dragon. Suddenly the sky lit up with a quick purple flash and they saw a silhouette of the huge beast briefly in the clouds, then another and another and they clearly heard the frustrated bellows of the monster. There was then a bright orange glow as the creature released its own fire all around it and the onlookers watched this firestorm horrified by its sheer power. Just when they thought it was over Hiccup and Toothless burst from the clouds diving sharply with the beast following, tension built rapidly as the Night Fury rapidly approached the ground. Snotlout could see the plume of smoke coming from Toothless' tail and he knew that the fake tailfin must have been hit. The beast opened its mouth ready to incinerate its target once and for all when Toothless spun in the air, fired into the monster's open mouth and opened his wings sharply arresting his rapid dive. The huge dragon snapped its wings open only for them to tear from several burning holes covering the surface. With its wings useless and its body burning from the inside the mighty beast crashed into the beach, exploding in a huge melee of flames and causing a mighty shockwave causing everyone present to stumble back. As Snotlout recovered he saw something he would never forget.

Hiccup falling back into the inferno with Toothless frantically trying to reach him as they were both swallowed by the fire.

* * *

Silence hung heavily in the ash white air only broken by the sound of Stoick calling to his son.

"Hiccup? Hiccup!? Son!?"

He saw Toothless curled up on the scorched ground and hurried to the dragon's side. As the rest of the Vikings approached Snotlout broke away from the crowd and ran to Toothless in hope…only to stop dead as his uncle fell to his knees revealing the empty saddle. Everyone else kept a respectable distance leaving Snotlout standing halfway between them and his uncle alone. He stood frozen in place then, without any conscious decision, he slowly walked to his uncle's side and knelt next to him. Without even looking Stoick wrapped his arm around him nephew and pulled him close to his side and stared into the eyes of Toothless and said three words.

"I'm so sorry…"

Toothless' gaze softened and he unfurled his wings to reveal his precious burden. Stoick stared in shock.

"Hiccup."

He then scooped Hiccup into his heart and pressed his ear to his son's chest listening for the sound he so desperately wanted to hear as Snotlout waited in tense hope.

"He's alive! You brought him back alive!"

Snotlout's heart leapt for joy at his uncle's words and he heard the cheers and roars of jubilation from the crowd behind him as he pounced on Toothless and gave him a thankful hug. The dragon rumbled quietly in response and Stoick placed a gentle hand on Toothless' head.

"Thank you…for saving my son."

Gobber had come up behind him and added his own comment that almost ruined the joyful atmosphere.

"Well, you know…most of him."

* * *

 _ **PS-Well there we go and the next chapter will most likely have a lot more changes from the original. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	9. Endings and Beginnings

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the final chapter of this story. This one does have some extensive alterations to several of the scenes which I hope you like. If you liked this there are three other stories of mine set in this 'verse' and an ongoing one shot collection. The three stories are 'Unnoticed and Unsaid', 'Glacial Bloom' and 'One which isn't your Own'. The one shot collection is 'Happenings of Berk'. Thank you for your support of this story and I hope you enjoy the final chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Endings and Beginnings**

With most of the ships burned to ashes it was going to take a lot of effort to get all the Vikings back home.

Only one of the boats was salvageable and even that would take awhile to get seaworthy and with Hiccup's injuries the only option left was to fly him back to Berk on a dragon. Gobber had done what he could for the boy but Hiccup needed Gothi's expertise if he was going to pull through this and he needed it soon. Many Vikings were very wary at sending him back on a dragon but Stoick was determined to do whatever he needed for his son and if that meant trusting one of Berk's oldest enemies then so be it.

What dragon they could use was limited, Toothless, Astrid's Nadder and Fishlegs' Gronkle were out as they were all too small to carry Stoick, Hiccup and a rider as well as the fact Toothless was now missing a tailfin. No one really wanted to trust the twins on their Zippleback with this so that only left Hookfang but Snotlout was staying behind with Toothless, the Night Fury was very uncomfortable amongst the Vikings and no one could really blame him after everything that had happened. Snotlout was about the only other person he trusted except Hiccup as he'd made it clear he still wasn't that fond of Astrid yet so he sort of had to stay with the grounded dragon. This however meant he couldn't fly Hookfang and so the debate went back and forth as they all argued about it loudly the way Vikings did.

In the end their dilemma was solved by Hookfang himself walking over and gesturing for Stoick to get on with Hiccup. Snotlout's uncle was understandably tentative but soon climbed carefully onto the Nightmare's back keeping a firm but gentle grip on Hiccup and his hastily bandaged leg. Hookfang then lowered his head and allowed Astrid to climb onto his neck, as he prepared to take off Snotlout patted him on the snout.

"You get them there safely Hookfang."

His dragon growled reassuringly before gently taking to the sky and flying to Berk with his precious cargo. Snotlout stood with Toothless and they both watched the Nightmare vanish into the distance, Toothless made a worried whining sound and he patted the Night Fury on the head, "Don't worry Toothless. They'll make sure he's fine."

He smiled encouragingly at Toothless but the Night Fury wandered away and sat himself at the very edge of the sea to stare at the horizon. It was obvious that Toothless wasn't happy about letting them take Hiccup back without him but he seemed to have realised it was the best thing to do as he couldn't currently fly. Snotlout sighed and someone's hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking round he saw Gobber beside him and the man spoke comfortingly, "Hiccup's tough, he'll be alright." He gestured over at the Night Fury, "Right now I think ye should stay with that one, the poor beast looks like he needs someone right now."

He gently squeezed Snotlout's shoulder before shuffling off to help those who were trying to get the only salvageable vessel seaworthy as the teen slowly approached Toothless and stood beside him. The dragon didn't even look at him and Snotlout sat beside him and placed his arm over the Night Fury's neck, Toothless looked at him in surprise but then warbled and nuzzled him before returning his attention to the horizon. Snotlout gently scratched the dragon and the two of them sat there looking out towards Berk and waited.

* * *

It wasn't until the next day that Astrid and Hookfang returned and Snotlout and Toothless were right there to meet them.

The Night Fury had stayed close to his rider's cousin as the two were united in their concern for Hiccup, as they waited together Snotlout had found himself talking to the dragon a lot about all sorts of things and Toothless had proven to be an excellent listener. It seemed to keep them both distracted as they waited impatiently for news on Hiccup and it was late into the night before Snotlout finally fell asleep leaning against Toothless' side. When he woke he found that the Night Fury had shifted so he was curled around the teen but was still wide awake, they stayed like that until Hookfang appeared on the horizon bringing Astrid with him and the two quickly got up to meet them as they landed.

Hookfang gave Astrid just enough time to dismount before running to his rider and Snotlout obliged his friend with scratches but questioned Astrid as he did so, "How is he?"

She replied with a worried frown, "It's bad but Gothi says he'll definitely survive."

Snotlout sighed with relief but noticed that Astrid still looked worried, "Why do you looked so worried?"

She took a deep breath before answering, "She also said that his lower left leg was completely ruined. She had to amputate it."

He grimaced, they were used to amputees and many carried on pretty much as normal but he knew it would take Hiccup awhile to get used to a fake leg. He eyed up what was left of Toothless' tailfin controls and was struck by another thought, how could Hiccup control an artificial tailfin without his foot? Astrid must have been thinking the same thing, "Do you think he'll be able fly Toothless again?"

Snotlout couldn't see how and was about to say as much when he was struck by an idea and grinned, "I know how to make sure he will. C'mon Toothless!"

He left Astrid standing there in confusion as he, Hookfang and Toothless sprinted off to where Gobber was supervising the ship repairs. The blacksmith saw their approach and as others backed away from the incoming dragons he stayed put, "What are you rushing about for lad?"

The boy looked up at him, "Gothi says that Hiccup is going to survive…"

"That's great news lad!"

Gobber and the other nearby Vikings gave cheers at this news but Gobber's smile quickly fell when he saw Snotlout's expression, "But there's something else isn't there."

Snotlout nodded, "His lower leg was far too damaged to save. She had to amputate it."

As the other surrounding Vikings muttered to each other Gobber nodded sagely like he'd been expecting the news, "I see lad." He eyed Toothless' saddle, "That might make it difficult for him to fly again."

"I have an idea about that Gobber."

The blacksmith looked at him in interest, "Oh?"

Snotlout looked hopeful, "When we get back to Berk can I use the forge and some of the materials?"

The man smiled once more, "Certainly lad. Whatever you need."

The boy grinned, "Thanks Gobber."

* * *

It took two more days before the ship was ready to get everyone back to Berk.

Fortunately the fog surrounding the island had dissipated for the first time in any Viking's memory allowing a clear sail home. The ship wasn't big enough for everyone so it was going to have to travel there and back several times to get everybody home and it wasn't questioned that Toothless would be one of the first to leave. The Night Fury perched on the bow gazing at the sea ahead as Snotlout and Hookfang flew close by moving at the ship's slower speed in case it needed any help.

Eventually they saw Berk on the horizon and Snotlout flew on ahead to let the village know they were coming. As he approached he could see people either staring or running for cover at the sight of Hookfang. Though the teen's dragons had been used extensively to carry messages and supplies between Berk and the island it would be awhile before people got used to seeing them and not expect an attack. He landed outside his house and went inside; his uncle was sat next to the large bed that had been placed in the downstairs room keeping watch over his son. Hiccup was still unconscious and he was far too pale for Snotlout's liking but apart from that he looked well, if you didn't look too closely at the flattened cover where there should have been a bump caused by his left foot.

Stoick turned as he entered and smiled at his nephew, "Snotlout."

He smiled awkwardly back, "The ship will be in with Toothless and the first of the villagers soon."

"Thank you."

There was a tense silence and Snotlout felt a sudden urge to get out of the house and away from his uncle, "Well I should go and meet them and make sure Toothless doesn't charge through the village and freak everyone while trying to get here."

His uncle looked like he was about to say something but Snotlout was out the door and off down the hill before Stoick got the chance.

* * *

Days passed and Hiccup still hadn't awoken though Gothi kept saying he was improving.

Snotlout had spent a lot of that time in the forge working on a brand new saddle for Toothless. It was taking a great deal of effort as he didn't have Hiccup's talent for creating things but he persevered and Gobber was always on hand to help since he was working on Hiccup's prosthetic leg. The teen had found Hiccup's plans and designs for the first tailfin in the forge's back room and they'd proven a big help in the second one's creation. He'd also had a suitable sized piece of red canvas for the actual fin, Snotlout had got it off Trader Johann a while ago and was saving it for something special and he felt this was the time to use it. He'd even got Bucket to paint a design on it and it proved to be an excellent replacement for the old brown one.

Whenever he wasn't working in the forge he was with Hookfang as he and the other riders tried to help the village deal with the sudden influx of dragons, many had chosen to remain on Dragon Island, as it was now named, but quite a lot seemed to have taken a liking to Berk, mostly Terrors (who'd taken to stealing any shiny or edible object not nailed down) but a good few of the other species as well. Miraculously there weren't nearly as many incidents as everyone had feared as it seemed that the teen's dragons held some sort of authority over the others and could help stop incidents before they even happened. Another aspect in their favour was the fact that everyone was so relieved that the endless fighting was over they were willing to give dragons a chance if it kept the peace, of course there were those who firmly remained against them but they were greatly in the minority. As the day's passed the dragons became more and more integrated into Berk and soon other dragons were showing an interest in pairing up with certain Vikings and a couple of these pairs had even gone on experimental flights.

The rest of Snotlout's time was spent at Hiccup's bedside with Toothless but that was only when Stoick was not around because his duties called him away. He was largely avoiding his uncle as whenever he saw him he clearly remembered Stoick's final words to him before he left to attack the nest. He knew the man regretted what he had said but he still couldn't bring himself to spend too long with him; he was torn on either forgiving his uncle or screaming at him for not listening to either him or Hiccup when it mattered.

This was why he was now sitting on top of one of the east facing cliffs above the sea late at night.

This particular cliff top was an odd place. It didn't look any different from any other cliffs around the island and it had nothing particularly special about it but it was where Snotlout always went when something was really troubling him. He'd sat in the same spot many times when he'd first lost his parents. He remembered sitting there all night after their bodies had been brought back in their half-wrecked boat. He'd never actually seen their bodies properly but he'd heard some of the men say that it looked like they'd been killed by pirates. Their bodies were burned at dusk and Snotlout had made his way to the cliff top after the ceremony, he didn't move for the rest of the night. Each night afterwards he would wake and sneak out of the house to the cliff and remain there until dawn, this continued until one night his uncle came and sat with him. There was no meaningful or deep conversation, no empty words about how great his parents had been or any useless speeches filled with pity or sympathy, Stoick just sat with his nephew until Snotlout buried his face into his side and cried and his uncle just held him until dawn came again.

Now years later Snotlout was once again sitting on the cliff and his uncle once again sat with him.

The hours slowly passed by as a full moon silently moved through the sky towards the west and they still didn't speak. The moon was well on its way down into the west before Stoick finally moved. He looked at his nephew and opened his arms, silently asking for forgiveness. Snotlout stared at him for a moment various memories playing through his mind, his parent's death and the days after, all the times his uncle comforted him when his sleep was ravaged by nightmares, the times the man tutored him in his weapon wielding skills, giving him his mother's harp and his father's belt, giving him the mace for dragon training, the arena and the enraged words after and finally his heartfelt regret and apology in the moment they thought Hiccup hadn't made it. Then with no further thought or deliberation he slowly moved and told his uncle everything he was feeling in one hug. Stoick returned it relaying as much emotion as his nephew and, like the first time years ago, they remained that way until dawn came clearing all remnants of the past night.

* * *

It was two weeks after the now dubbed Red Death's defeat when Hiccup finally woke up.

Gothi had informed them he would be soon and Snotlout tried to not be too far away from the house if he could help it. It was easier said then done since without Hiccup, he, Astrid and the other teens were the go to people in the village for any dragon issues. There were now fewer and fewer and although the teens were the only regular flyers several other dragons had been adopted by different Vikings and were now working side by side with their former enemies like it'd always been that way.

Snotlout had been in the middle of a lap of the island with Hookfang when a shout from below caught his attention.

"Hey look! It's Hiccup!"

He looked down to see villagers flocking to his cousin who'd obviously just come out of the house. Stoick had his arm around Hiccup both to steady him and to slightly shield him from the happy Vikings gathered around them. Snotlout quickly landed beside the forge and gathered up the new saddle he'd finished a couple of days ago and ran up towards the gathered crowd. They saw him coming and quickly parted to let him and Hookfang through just in time to see Hiccup and Astrid break apart from a kiss. Snotlout stopped in front of his cousin and Hiccup looked at the bundle in his arms in amazement, "Snotlout, did you make that for me?"

The younger cousin smiled, "Well you're old one was wrecked so you need it if you and Toothless are going to fly again." He held it out, "Welcome home."

Hiccup took the new saddle and tail fin thankfully and pulled his younger cousin into a hug, Snotlout returned it as a call sounded from the back of the crowd.

"Night Fury, get down!"

Toothless bounded through and over Vikings like an overexcited puppy and the two cousins found themselves wrapped in scaly arms and a pair of wings as he joined the hug, liberally licking them both as he did so.

He eventually released them and sat down looking exceedingly happy as Snotlout and Hiccup both tried to wipe the dragon saliva off their faces.

"Ack Toothless!"

"Seriously!"

The dragon laughed along with the crowd and soon the two cousins joined in.

* * *

In no time at all Hiccup had Toothless saddled and the two took to the air.

Snotlout and Astrid followed close behind and soon they were swooping and darting over and through the village. Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut soon joined them and the teens and their dragons powered into the sky and on towards the start of something new.

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 _ **PS-Please let me know what you thought of this story and I hope to see you soon.**_


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